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ADVENTURES  OF 


A  MIER  PRISONER 


{^^irii^^itiiiit'iifiiiitiiiiiiitiiitiitt'ili'iiii 


Being  the  Thrilling  Experiences  of 

John  Rafas  Alexander 

Who  was  with  the  IIIFated 
Expedition  Which  Invaded  Mexico 


iSiitiiitiiiii^'^itiili^ilihlliiiiiiiiilfiliiillt 


Published  by 
FRONTIER  TIMES 
Bandera,  Texas 


■xiiEi 


2-^ 


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AdwemtmteB  ®{F  a  Mn®ir  PTO(0)ir)i©ir 

ThrfUing  Story  of  John  Rufus  Alexander,  a  Member  of  the 
III- Fated  Expedition  into  Mexico 

Written  by  John  Warren  Hunter 


COPYRIOHT  I0ia 


AL    dawn,    September    11,      1842,    Gen. 

Wo]l  at  the  head  of  1,200     troops     took 

piossession   of  the   town  of  San  Antonio. 

The  battle  on  the-Salado  followed  on  the 

17th,     where     a     mere  handful     of  '  men 

under     old     "Paint"       Caldwell,     after 

fightinj?  nearly  all  day.  sent  the  minions 

of  Santa  Anna  reeling  back  into  San  An- 

:    tonio     On   the   retreat  of  these   dastards 

the}'     eneoniitered     Daw-Sion's      company 

.  which  was  trying  to  reach  Captain  Cald- 

•"  well's  forces,  and,  ignoring  the  white  flag 

which  was  hoisted  in  token  of  surrender, 

"'lose  brave  men  were  put  to  the  sword, 

ily  a  few  escaping  to  tell  the  story  of 

,. Mexican  perfidy  and  of  Mexican  atrocity. 

"'Upon  Woll's  advent  into  San     Antonio, 

^the  call  to  arms  rang  out  and  was  borne 

on  the  wings  of  wind  from  the  Gaudalupe 

the   Brazos,   from   the   Brazos   to  the 

it)ine:   the     blood     of   Dawson's     men 

ied   aloud  for   vengeance,     and   Texas 

hastih^  responded     to     the  appeal.     The 

•-call  reached  me  at  my  home  in  Brazoria 

county,  and  seizing  my  rifle  and  mount- 

L  irij*  my  best  horse  I  hun'ied  forAvard  and 

ined   Capt.   Shelby   McNeal's   company 

, liid  a  few  days  later     we     reached  San 

Antonio,  where     we     remained     in  camp 

veral  weeks. 

1  wish  to  say  just  here,  at  the  outset, 

iliat  it  is  not  my    purpose     to    write  the 

Alier  expedition,  giving  in  minute  detail 

y  its  causes  and  fatal  results;  able  writers 

^  liave    faithfully   accomplished    that    task, 

K  and  all  the  wiorld  has  read  the  harrowing 

^  story  of  Mier,  the  shocking     tragedy  of 

<  8a!ado,  where  seventeen  of  my  comrades 

■re  inhumanly  jnit   to   death   by  Santa 

nna's  orders,  and  of  the  long  and  cruel 

iprisonment  of  those  who  were  finally 

I  iven  in   chains     into     the     Castle     of 

i'crote.     For  the  benefit  of  my  children 

.ind  those  of  my  countrymen  who  would 

!  I  reserve  the  record     of     suffering     and 

sacrifice  of  the     men     who     fought     for 

I'rxas  and  who  laid   in  blood  and  tears 

the  foundation  of  a  mighty  State,  I,  the 

only '  survivor  of  the  six     who     escaped 

iiom  Salado,     and     amid     the     evening 

shadows  of  a  long  and  eventful  life,  as- 


sume the  pleasing  task  of  placing  upon 
record  a  truthful  account  of  my  personal 
experience  as  a  member  of  the  Mier 
Expedition,  as  a  Mier  prisoner,  and  my 
providential  escape  iYiom  Salado,  and 
something  of  my  sufferings  while  mak- 
ing my  way  through  those  inhospitable 
regions  of  Northern  Mexico,  back  to 
Texas  and  home. 

I  d<o  not  recall  the  date  of  our  de- 
parture from  San  Antonio  for  the  Rio 
Grande;  suffice  it  to  say  that  our  army, 
1,000  to  1,200  strong,  under  command  of 
General  SomerveH,  set  forth  and  aiter  a 
tedious  march,  reached  Laredo,  where 
we  remained  in  camp  two  or  three  days 
The  spirit  of  revenge  and  retaliation  for 
numberless  wrongs  was  rife  among  our 
men,  who  all  the  while  had  been  made 
to  believe  that  we  were  to  be  led  into  the 
enemy's"  country  for  the  purpose  of 
administering  just  and  merited  chastise- 
ment, and  when  General  Somervell  broke 
camp  late  one  evening  at  Laredo,  and 
took  up  the  line  of  march  in  a  direction 
contrary  to  that  of  our  expectations, 
loud  mutinous  murmurings  were  heard 
in  all  the  ranks.  After  marching  all 
night,  we  halted  for  breakfast  and  see- 
ing the  discontent  and  threatening  at- 
titude of  his  men,  and  the  spirit  of  insub- 
ordination that  menaced  the  entire  com- 
mand, Gen.  Somervell  assembled  the 
army  and  made  a  speech,  at  the  conclu- 
sion of  which  he  tendered  his  resigna- 
tion as  commander-in-^chief  and  request- 
ed the  men  to  elect  his  successor,  adding 
that  he  would  continue  with  the  army 
and  would  go  as  far  as  any  man  dare  go. 
This  later  statement  seemed  so  generous 
and  appealed  to  the  boys  in  such  friend- 
ly force  that  they  refused  to  accept  the 
offered  resignation,  but  b}'  almost  unani- 
mous vote,  continued  Somervell  as  com- 
mander of  the  expedition.  After  this 
expression  of  confidence  the  general  -step- 
ped out  in  an  open  space,  raised  a  flag 
and  asked  all  who  would  pledge 
obedience  to  orders  to  rally  to  the  colors, 
and  all  who  wished  to  abandon  the  expe- 
dition and  return  home  were  at  liberty 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  A  MIER  PRISONER 


oflicers  rode  forward  and  called  for  Col. 
Fisher.  The  Colonel  met  them  and, 
after  a  long  parley,  he  returned  with  the 
announcement  that  he  had  been  summon- 
ed to  surrender  under  the  promise  that 
we  should  be  treated  as  prisoners  of  war, 
that  we  should  not  be  sent  to  Mexico, 
but  held  on  the  Rio  Grande  border  until 
exchanged,  or  until  peace  was  declared, 
and  that  we  had  just  one  hour  to  deside, 
and  if  the  terms  of  surrender  proposed 
by  them  were  not  accepted  in  that  time 
we  would  be  shown  no  quarter. 

I  have  no  language  to  describe  the 
scene  of  confusion  that  followed  this 
announcement.  The  older  men.  those 
who  had  fought  at  San  Jacinto  or  had 
lost  friends  or  relatives  at  the  Alamo  and 
Goliad,,  became  furious  and  denounced 
those  in  favor  of  surrender  as  cowards 
and  traitors.  They  argued  that  our  ad- 
vance so  far  had  been  one  of  triumph, 
that  we  had  whipped  the  enemy  back 
from  the  start,  and  now  had  Ampudia 
badly  beaten,  and  that  he  had  resorted 
to  strategy  on  order  to  frighten  us  into 
surrender.  And  thus  the  muddje  con- 
tinued until  the  hour  had  almost  expired. 
Some  wanted  to  fight  to  the  last  ditch, 
others  wanted  to  continue  the  fight  until 
night  and  try  to  make  our  escape  under 
cover  of  darkness.  Those  from  the 
States,  and  the  weaker  element,  who  had 
small  grievances  and  who  had  yet  to 
learn  of  Mexican  perfidy,  favored  sur- 
rendering, and  began  to  stack  their  arms 
on  the  plaza.  Seeing  this,  Captain 
Cameron  made  a  final  appeal  and  propos- 
ed that  if  as  many  as  100  men  would 
stand  by  him  he  wotild  lead  them  out 
even  if  he  had  to  cut  their  way  through 
the  ejiemy's  line.  Only  about  sixty  re- 
sponded, and  it  was  then  decided  that 
the  number  was  tOo  small,  and  the  entire 
command  yielded  as  prisoners  of  war. 
This  fatal  mistake  was  made  on  the 
evening  of  Christmas  Day,  1842.  In  this 
action  we  lost  sixteen  killed,  including 
those  who  died  later  of  their  wounds, 
besides  twenty-six  more  or  less  severely 
wounded,  out  of  a  total  of  261  that  went 
into  battle.  I  never  learned  how  many 
the  Mexicans  lost;  they  held  us  in  Mier 
until  the  following  Saturday,  nearly  a 
week,  and  during  much  of  the  time  they 
were  digging  graves  and  burying  their 
dead,  and  from  this  we  estimated  that 
they  mu&t  have  lost  at  least,  500  killed 
joutright,  and,  counting     the     wounded, 


which  must  have  been  double  the  number 
killed,  would  show  that  each  Texan 
killed  or  wounded  three  Mexicans, 
and  if  we  ha-d  been  allowed  to  continue 
the  figlit  a  few  hours  longer  we  would 
have  wiped  out  Ampudia  and  his  entire 
army,  whose  numeri'"'!  <+'V'?i<:'-tli  was 
given  as  2,000  men. 

On  Saturday  the  last  any  oi  me  old 
year,  we  started  on  a  long  march  to 
Matamoras,  leaving  our  wounded  in  Mier 
in  charge  of  Dr.  Sinnickson.  We  were 
guarded  by  Ampudia 's  whole  army,  and 
at  Camargo  we  wore  held  up  one  day 
while  each  man's  name,  nativity,  age 
and  occupation  was  placed  upon  record. 
When  we  reached  the  next  town 
Reyinosa,  we  were  halted  on  the  out- 
skirts of  the  miserable  village,  in  order 
to  allow  the  artillery  to  move  forward, 
take  position  and  fire  salvos  in  honor  of 
the  immortal  Ampudia  and  his  great  vic- 
tory over  the  hated  Tejanos.  Finally, 
when  all  were  in  readiness,  we  marched 
into  town,  where  we  found  triumphal 
arches  on  the  only  street,  and  these  were 
adorned  with  every  species  of  childish 
tawdry.  The  rabble  lined  the  street  and 
flat  roofs  and  shouted  themselves  hoarse ; 
now  in  laudation  of  the  benemerito, 
Ampudia,  and  next,  hurling  anathemas 
at  the  Texas  prisoners. 

When  the  general  entered  the  plaza  he 
was  preceded  by  about  a  dozen  boys 
togged  out  in  what  these  barbarians  con- 
sidered holiday  costumes,  and  these 
little  friskies  danced,  or  rather  capered, 
before  his  mightiness  while  he,  with  his 
prisoner.s,  marched  three  .times  around 
the  filth-laden  plaza.  All  during  this 
time  there  was  a  babble  of  noise,  the  fir- 
ing of  cannon,  the  blare  of  nerve  racking 
music  and  the  strident  shouts  of  the 
multitude.  At  the  close  of  this  patriotic 
demonstration  the  general  and  his  staff, 
led  by  a  few  sleek  old  priests,  entered 
the  church,  where  they  went  through 
some  sort  of  ceremony,  thanJisgiving  I 
suppose. 

From  Reyinosa  we  were  marched  to 
Matamoras,  a  long  and  painful  journer, 
and  when  we  reached  that  place  another 
triumphal  reception  awaited  the  "con- 
quering hero."  We  were  held  there  three 
days  and  during  the  time  Major  Oldham 
sent  for  an  Englishman,  then  a  resident 
of  Matamoras,  and  whom  he  had  former- 
ly known  in  Kentucky.  This  generous 
acquaintance  came     promptly,     and     he 


THE  ADYENTITRES  OF  A  MIER  PRISONER 


loaned  Major  Oldham  $100  and  advanced 
to  the  prisoners  the  sum  of  $2,000.  In 
addition  to  this  he  gave  as  a  free  gift 
$5  to  each  man  that  chanced  to  he  from 
Kentuck.y.  From  Matamoras  on  January 
14,  we  star1:ed  for  Monterey  in  charge  of 
General  Canales  with  a  guard  of  600  men. 
This  march  was  marked  with  no  unusual 
incidents  save  the  sufferings  of  the 
weary,  footsore  prisoners  who,  all  the 
while,  were  planning  among  themselves 
to  make  a  break  for  liberty.  We  arrived 
;it  Monterey  on  the  29th,  and  remained 
until  February  2,  when  we  set  out  for 
Saltillo  in  charge  of  General  Barragan 
and  350  men,  all  raw  troops  except  a 
company  of  regulars,  whom  we  soon 
learned  to  call  Red  Caps.  During  all 
this  .iourney  we  were  seldom  free  from 
Hie  pangs  of  hunger,  our  daily  allowance 
being  a  small  piece  of  lean  beef  which 
had  been  boiled.  This  was  doled  out  to 
lis  in  a  pint  of  water  in  which  the  meat 
lirid  been  cooked  Avith  a  few  grains  of 
rice  and  a  few  beans.  This  stuff,  and  a 
s 111  all  piece  of  dry,  stale  bread,  was 
i^^ued  twice  a  day  to  each  man  and  was 
I'Jirely  sufficient  to  ward  off  starvation. 
Those  who  had  shared  the  bounty  of  the 
:-Tuerous  Englishman  at  Matamoras 
I'm  red  better.  There  was  no  dearth  of 
peddlers  along  our  route.  Our  coming 
seemed  to  have  been  heralded  far  in 
advance,  and  every  old  palado  that  could 
scrape  together  a  few  eggs,  tortillas, 
^loat  milk  or  goat  milk  cheese,  got  out 
i»n  the  road  to  wait  our  coming,  and 
those  who  had  the  money  could  buy, 
^vllile  the  moneyless  man  had  to  resort 
to  stealing.  And  if  the  man  without 
money  got  to  the  peddler  first  the  latter 
soon  found  his  stock  entirely  exhausted ; 
he  was  soon  s^urrounded  by  the 
friendliest  people  in  the  world,  who 
oggled  him  clear  away  from  his  basket 
of  goods,  and  when  he  carried  his  com- 
plaint to  the  officers  they  treated  it  as 
a   huge  joke — on  the  pelado. 

The  plotting  continued.  We  lay  over 
at  Saltillo  one  day  and  then  resumed  our 
journey  toward  the  City  of  Mexico — and 
Perote.  Seventy-five  miles  from  Saltillo 
we  reached  a  station  called  Hacienda 
Salado.  Here  we  came  up  with  Colonel 
Fisher,  General  Green,  Dr.  Sheppard  and 
their  interpreter,  Dan  Henry,  and  also 
the  old  sea  captain,  Lyons,  whom  Gen. 
Green  had  proclaimed  as  his  body 
servant.      These  officers  had    been    sent 


forward  in  order  to  keep  them  separate 
from  us,  but  now  since  having  penetrated 
far  into  the  interior,  Mexican  vigilance 
seems  to  have  relaxed  to  a  certain  extent, 
and  that  evening  we  were  corraled  some 
of  these  officers  were  allowed  to  visit  us 
for   a   short   time. 

On  arriving  at  this  Hacienda  Salado 
we  were  marched  into  an  enclosure,  the 
the  Avails  of  which  were  eight,  probably 
ten  feet  in  height.  This  enclosure  more 
properly  speaking,  corral,  was  divided 
into  two  pens  or  compartments,  and  into 
the  smaller  of  these  we  were  placed, 
while  the  larger  was  occupied  by  the  in- 
fantry guards.  The  entrance  to  the  pen 
assigned  us  opened  into  the  compartment 
Avhere  the  guards  were  biviouacked,  and 
as  soon  as  we  all  had  passed  in  sentinels 
were  placed  at  this  entrance.  The  sold- 
iers stacked  their  arms  against  the  south 
wall,  every  movement  being  closely  ob- 
served by  keen  watchful  eyes. 

At  the  opposite  end  of  the  enclosure, 
and  built  into  the  wall,  was  a  house,  with 
doorways  leading  from  the  main  corral 
to  the  outside.  The  red  caps  took  up 
quarters  in  this  house  for  the  night. 
During  the  brief  visit  of  our  officers,  as 
before  mentioned  they  were  assured  that 
if  we  made  the  break  next  morning  as 
contemplated,  we  would  certainlt  attack 
their  escort  and  effect  their  release,  but 
it  seems  that  the  Mexicans  became  sus- 
picious and  left  with  their  prisoners  be- 
fore we  made  the  stampede.  At  all 
events  they  were  not  far  away,  since 
General  Green  says  in  his  Histor^*  of  the 
Mier  Expedition  that  he  heard  our  yells 
and  the  firing,  and  that  he  and  his  fellow 
prisoners  were  pushed  forward  with  all 
speed,  traveling  seventy-five  miles  be- 
fore they  were  allowd  to  halt.  But  to 
return  to  the  men  in  the  corral.  It  was 
the  night  of  February  10.  There  was 
a  chill  in  the  air,  and  as  night  advanced 
a  cold  wind  swept  down  from  the  Sier- 
ras. We  had  few  blankets  and  we  had 
been  given  only  a  slender  supply  of 
Avoo-d  to  light  a  fire.  Before  taps  there 
Avas  the  usual  amount  of  merriment 
among  the  boys,  and  it  appeared  to  me 
that  the  spirit  of  fun  and  repartee  ran 
with  greater  exuberance  than  on  any 
former  occasion,  even  to  the  extent 
that  it  attracted  notice  on  the  part  of 
some  of  our  guards,  and  one  of  the  petty 
officers  came  in  and  asked  Captain  Cam- 
eron the  cause  of  the  general  good  humor. 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  A  MIER  PRISONER 


lie  was  told  that  it  was  in  view  of  the 
near  approach  of  St.  Valentine's,  our 
saint's  day,  which  we  always  celebrated 
with  great  rejoicing  and  hibirit]'.  since 
it  never  failed  to  bring  good  fortune. 

Long  before  daylight  on  the  morning 
of  the  11th,  I  rose  and  made  a  small  fire. 
and  while  trying  to  "thaw  out,"  ray  be- 
numbed limbs  I  was  joined  by  others. 
Dr.  Brenham  and  Mr.  Copeland.  In 
whispers  we  began  to  discuss  our  chances 
for  a  break  that  morning,  and  I  express- 
ed the  opinion  that  the  effort  would  nf)t 
be  made,  that  as  heretofore,  somebody 
would  weaken  because  of  the  fearful 
hazard  and  the  long  distance  from  Texas, 
and  also  the  fearful  odds  in  point  of  the 
numbers  against  us/'biit"  said  I,  "if  the 
break  is  made,  I  will  be  among  the  first 
in  the  charge,  and  I  believe  I  can  go  as 
far  as  nny  man."  Mr.  Copeland  said 
that  the  agreement  to  stampede  was  sure 
and  binding  and  that  we  would  run  over 
guards  as  if  they  were  a  gang  of  hood- 
lums, and  that  we  would  get  out  in  the 
mountains  and  live  on  the  fat  of  the  land. 
Dr.  Cameron  had  been  a  Santa  Fe  prison- 
er and  said  if  he  was  taken  to  the  City  of 
Mexico  he  would  be  recognized  and  im 
mediately  ordered  to  execution.  "The 
break  will  be  made  this  morning,"  said 
he,  "if  I  have  to  make  it  all  alone  and 
sin.gle  handed ;  I  would  rather  die  fight- 
ing like  a  man,  here,  than  to  be  led  out 
and  shot  like  a  felon  at  Perote." 

Few  of  us  gave  heed  to  the  chill  of 
the  morning  air.  The  raurkey  dawn  an- 
nounced the  approach  of  a  great  crisis. 
and  it  found  the  men  ready,  eager  and 
waiting  for  the  signal.  There  was  no 
unusual  movement  observable  among  the 
men;  there  was  a  total  absence  of  that 
spirit  of  levity  and  good-natured  badi- 
nage that  had  prevailed  the  evening  be- 
fore ;  a  silence  that  presaged  the  coming 
of  a  great  event  in  our  lives  prevailed  : 
the  men  stood  in  groups,  or  sauntered  in 
apparent  listlesness  about  the  narrow 
confines  of  our  prison  as  dumb,  submis- 
sive eatt'e,  waiting  the  coming  of  the 
pound  master  to  dole  out  the  morning 
provender.  !Men  looked  into  each  others 
faces  with  inquiring  eyes  and  read  de- 
cision in  every  countenance  and  grim 
dett-rmination  in  every  eye.  Our  shackles 
were  to  be  broken,  the  grave  had  less 
terrors  than  the  dungeons  of  Perote,  our 
backs  were  to  be  turned  towards  Santa 
Anna's   boasted    capital,   and      our     faces 


toward  home,  Texas,  and  liberty.  What 
greater  incentive  to  nerve  men  to  daring 
deeds?  I  saw  men  grasp  each  others 's 
hands  in  silence,  as  if  in  greeting,  en- 
couragment  congratulation,,  or  a  final 
farewell,  each,  seemingly,  rcalii^ing  that 
the  minute  hand  of  time  was  swiftly  ap- 
proaching the  stroke  of  doom,  or  the 
chime  of  freedom  for  over  200  brave  men. 
It  was  a  scene  fit  to  arouse  the  war  gods 
of  antiquity,  and  to  command  the  admir- 
ation of  the  world.  The  Spartans  at 
Thermopylae  were  led  by  tried  and  ex- 
perienced oflficers  and  in  their  hands 
swords,  spears  and  lances:  the  immortals 
who  went  down  in  the  Alamo  stood  be- 
hind walls  of  masonry  while  their  un- 
erring eyes  glanced  along  the  gleaming 
barrels  of  ihr  deadly  rifles.  The  Captives 
of  Mier,  cold,  hungry,  their  emanciated 
forms  clad  in  rags  that  fluttered  in  re- 
sponsive salute  to  the  mountains'  chilling 
breath ;  these  stood  in  expectant  silence 
awaiting  the  signal  to  spring  upon  a 
vigilant,  heavily-armerl  foe.  Weapons? 
Bare  hands,  more  deft  in  the  arts  of 
peace  than  implements  of  Avarfare 
Armor?  Rugged  breasts  that  never  quak- 
ed with  fear,  always  turned  to  the  enemy, 
and  faces  that  never  blanched  in  the  pre- 
sence of  danger.  But  these  coarse, 
brawny  hands  were  not  without  missiles 
and  rude  implements  of  hurtling  design. 
Let  me  relate  one  instance :  At  Saltillo. 
one  of  our  gimrds  derisively  cast  at 
Bate  Berry's  feet  an  old  cast-off  infantry- 
man's jacket,  a  mass  of  tatters  that, 
ordinarily,  a  rag  picker  would  have 
kicked  aside.  Ever  on  the  alert.  Berry 
took  it  up  and  finding  one  of  the  sleeves 
partially  in  tact,  removed  it  and  con- 
cealed it  underneath  the  folds  of  his 
own  dilapidated  raiment.  With  this 
empty  sleeve  and  a  .small  round  stone, 
weighing  about  one  pound,  he  fashioned 
a  slingr-shot.  and  with  this  rude  and 
primitive  weapon  he  brained  tAvo  of  the 
guards  when  the  break  was  made — ^his 
first  blood  offering  on  the  altar  of  revenge 
All  eyes  were  fixed  upon  Sam  Walker 
and  Captain  Ryan  as  they  carelessly  ad- 
vanced towards  the  doorway  leading  in- 
to the  compartment  occupied  by  the 
guards.  Captain  Ryan  after  looking 
through  the  gateway,  turned  and  said 
something  to  those  who  stood  near,  and 
the  word  was  soon  whispered  around: 
"Too  late;  the  Red  Caps  w,ere  already 
under  arms!"  Ryan     anrl     Walker     still 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  A  MTER  PRISONER 


sfood  in  the  doorway  as  if  waitiiij;,  win, 
Capt.  Cameron  stood  a  i'ew  s1e])s  directly 
in  their  rear.  The  sun  was  rising,  the 
silence  most  oppressive,  and  the  suspense 
amounted  to  torture.  Suddenly  Capt. 
<  ameron  threw  off  his  hat  and  pushing 
up  his  sleeves,  his  face  aflame  Avith  a 
strange  light  shouted:  "Now  is  your 
tvmc!  Come  on,  boys!"  With  Walker  at 
his  side,  these  two  were  the  tirst  to  ru.sh 
through  the  gateway,  each  grappling 
with  a  sentinel  whom  they  disarmed  and 
knocked  down.  With  piercing  shouts 
and  deafening  yells  our  men  poured 
through  the  gateway,  crushing  the  feeble 
iTsistance  offered  until  they  reached  the 
stack  of  arms  at  the  south  wall;  this 
point  reached,  and  seeing  us  in  possession 
of  their  guns.  tli|;  guards  either  begged 
•  inarter  oi  tied  precipitately  through  the 
front  gateway.  A  few  stoutly  resisted, 
l)ut  these  were  knocked  down,  run  over, 
disarmed  and  a  few  killed.  It  was  here 
that  Berrj'  got  in  his  deadly  work  with 
Ills  sling-shot.  When  I  got  to  the  stack 
of  guns  I  grabbed  a  short  musket,  but 
imagine  our  chagrin  when  we  found  that 
the  guns  were  not  loaded.  During  this 
brief  time  the  Red  Caps  were  firing,  but 
it  seemed  more  like  a  rambling,  desultory 
fire,  without  any  particular  .aim,  and 
when  we  had  .siezed  the  guns  and  were 
making  a  rush  for  the  amunition,  these 
valient  Red  Caps  took  to  flight,  joined 
by  the  Infantry,  or  those  who  had  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  out  of  our  reach.  As 
T  passed  through  this  mai'n  entrance  I 
saw  the  brave  Dr.  Brenham  and  a  man  by 
the  name  of  Lyons  lying  dead.  Both 
had  been  Santa  Fe  prisoners,  and  had 
fallen  as  they  emerged  from  the  en- 
closure. One  or  two  others  whose  names 
1  do  not  recall,  had  been  killed  near 
them. 

It  required  only  a  brief  moment  to  sup- 
ply ourselves  with  amunition,  and  seeing 
the  Mexicans  scampering  off  in  every 
direction  a  rush  was  made  for  their 
horses  which  were  being'  held  near  by. 
Of  these  we  captured  about  100  head, 
sufficient  to  mount  less  than  half  of  our 
men.  Five  of  our  men  were  killed  in 
this  action  and  a  number  wounded.  We 
paroled  our  prisoners  with  the  distinct 
understanding  that  the  wounded  we 
would  be  compelled  to  leave  should  re- 
ceive iumane  care  and  treatment.  We 
spent  a  couple  of  hours  burying  our 
fallen  comrades,  making  our  wounded — 


lit-  left  behind —  as  comfortablt 
a.N  pos.sible,  collecting  amunition,  provi- 
sions and  other  things  that  would  prove 
useful  on  our  journey.  Next  to  the  arms 
and  horses  our  most  important  capture 
wa.s  the  militarv  chest,  which  contained 
$1,400. 

Along  about  10  o'clock  we  faced  abo«t 
and  took  up  the  line  of  march  for  horn* 
and  Texas.  We  look  turn  about  riding 
and  walking,  and  with  radiant  faces 
pursued  the  route  we  had  followed  after 
leaving  Saltillo.  and  during  the  re- 
mainder of  that  day  and  a  few  hours  of 
night  travel  we  covered  the  distance  that 
required  two  days'  travel  while  under 
guard.  In  -other  words,  we  halted  at  a 
point  where  we  had  camped  two  nights 
before.  Here,  finding  a  house  well  filled 
with  corn,  we  fed  our  horses,  ate  supper, 
remounted  and  proceeded  about  six  miles 
and  went  into  camp.  The  next  morning, 
finding  ourselves  within  about  ten  miles 
of  Saltillo,  a  halt  was  called  and  the 
(piestion  submitted  as  to  whether  we 
should  leave  the  main  road  and  try  to 
malce  our  escape  through  the  mountains 
or  pursue  our  present  course  and  take 
chancees  on  cutting  our  way  through. 
Our  most  sagacious  leaders  opposed 
leaving  the  main  highway.  They  readi- 
ly admitted  the  force  of  the  argument 
advanced  by  those  in  favor  of  the  moun- 
tain route.  True,  they  said,  the  news 
of  our  uprising  will  travel  on  the  wings 
of  the  wind,  a  large  force  will  doubtlcie 
be  in  waiting  to  intercept  us  at  Saltillo, 
and  even  should  we  get  past  the  town 
in  safety,  every  mile  of  the  road  to 
the  Rio*  Grande  will  be  beset  with 
dangers.  But  in  the  face  of  this,  con- 
sider what  we  have  acQomplished  this 
day.  With  bare  hands  we  have  over- 
come our  enemies,  three  to  one,  captured 
their  arms,  we  ought  to  vanquish  any 
number  of  convict  soldiers  Santa  Anna 
may  send  against  us.  Take  to  the  moun- 
tains, they  argued,  and  we  are  lost.  We 
would  have  to  encounter  all  the  extermes 
of  heat  and  cold,  traverse  trackless 
wastes,  climb  lofty  heights,  follow  the 
meanderings  of  boulder-strewn  canyons 
and  hew  our  way  across  arid  plains  set 
with  forests  of  hurtling  cactus,  without 
food,  without  water,  with  absolutely  no 
hope  of  escape. 

The  question  was  put  to  a  vote  and  « 
majority  stood  in  favor  of  the  mountain 
route.     Fatal  decision ! 


tHE  ADVENTURES  OF  A  MIER  PRISONER 


The  break  tt  Salad o  was  made  Feb- 
ruary 11,  1843,  and  after  leaving  the 
road  and  directing  our  wandering  steps 
into  the  mountains,  I  soon  lost  all  reckon- 
ing as  to  dates. 

Leaving  Saltillo  to  the  right,  we  struck 
into  the  mountains,  and  for  two  days  we 
traveled  over  abandoned  trails  and  roads. 
In  the  afternoon  of  the  third  day  we 
came  to  a  small  station  occupied  by  a 
few  soldiers.  Captain  Cameron  sent 
John  Brennan  fonvard  to  ask  if  we  could 
obtain  water  and  provisions,  but  when 
he  approached  within  hailing  distance 
he  was  ordered  away  on  pain  of  being 
shot,  learning  of  which  Cameron  decided 
it  best  to  proceed  without  further  dis- 
turbance. The  next  daj'  wo  came  to 
another  military  post,  and  as  we  ap- 
proached, the  occupants  opened  a  brisk 
fire  upon  us  at  a  distance  of  at  least  500 
yards.  "  Convicts, "  said  Patrick  Mahan, 
"just  out  of  the  penitentiary,  and  the 
officers  want  them  to  get  used  to  the 
sound  of  their  own.  guns,  which  are  about 
as  safe  at  one  end  as  at  the  other,  and 
little  harm  in  either." 

We  did  not  return  their  weakling  fire 
but  passed  on.  The  next  morning  we 
struck  a  road,  and  after  traveling  some 
distance,  came  to  water  and  went  into 
camp,  and  while  resting  at  this  point  an 
Englishman,  accompanied  by  a  Mexican 
officer  came  to  us  and  inquired  for  our 
leader.  Captain  Cameron  was  pointed 
out,  and  after  introducing  himself  and 
discovcrincr  that  Cfimeron  was  a  Scotch- 
man, the  Briton  became  quite  communi- 
cative and  displayed  the  most  friendly 
solicitude  for  our  well-being.  He  saiid 
he  knew  the  country,  and  gave  Cameron 
explicit  directions  with  regard  to  the 
route  he  should  pursue,  and  on  parting 
offered  the  Captain  a  well  filled  purse 
as  an  earnest  of  his  friendship.-  This 
was  politely  declined  the  Captain  inform- 
ing him  that  he  already  posses^sed  ample 
funds  for  present  wants.  All  the  while, 
the  Mexican  maintained  dlilence,  and 
after  their  departure  we  were  unable  to 
surmi.se  th«^  object  of  his  coming  unless 
he  came  as  a  spy.  However,  we  followed 
the  Eng^ihman's  directions  until  towards 
night,  when  certain  signs  and  siuTound- 
ings  led  us  to  conclude  that  he  was  a 
treacherous  rascal,  a  ^^lla.^nous  spy  in 
the  pa  J''  of  Santa  Anna,  and  that  his  ob- 
ject was  to  lead  us  into  a  snare.  Where- 
upon we  abandoned  the  route  designated 


by  the  Englishman,  and  the  day  follow- 
ing we  ascended  jo  the  summit  of  a  high 
mountain,  and  from  our  lofty  elevation 
we  discovered  a  canyon,  which,  having 
its  source  near  the  base  of  the  mountain, 
stretched  away  toward  the  east,  the 
course  we  wanted  to  ]iursue.  We  made 
our  way  down  the  rugged  side  of  this 
mountain  and  entered  the  canyon,  and  it 
seemed  the  farther  we  advanced  the 
higher  the  perpendicular  walls  of  granite 
grew  and  the  more  broken  and  difficult 
the  surface  of  the  boulder-strewn  floor, 
with  here  and  there  breaks  or  falls  of 
two  to  four  feet  at  fii*st,  but  increasing 
in  height,  or  rather  depth,  ,  as  we  pro- 
ceeded. Over  a  number  of  these  it  be- 
came necssary  to  push  our  horses,  which 
was  rather  perilous,  and  a  few  of  the 
poor  animals  sustained  severe  bruises 
and  contusions  in  the  operation.  Having 
passed  one  of.  these  declivities  of  six  feet 
perpendicular  fall,  we  came  to  one  of  at 
least  fifteen  feet,  forming  a  farrier  that 
forbade  all  hope  of  further  advance  with 
our  horses.  The  six-foot  wall  was  just 
behind  us,  at  our  feet  was  a  fifteen-foot 
precipice ;  we  could  neither  advance  nor 
retrace  our  steps;  we  could  only  kill  our 
faithful  horses.  Tt  was  a  sad,  heart- 
rending ordeal,  and  touched  the  most  ob- 
durate heart.  These  patient  animals 
had  borne  us  thus  far,  and  even  now, 
while  we  were  planning  their  destruction 
in  their  famished  condition,  their  gentle 
lustrious  eyes  were  turned  upon  us  ap- 
ppalinjrly  for  relief.  But  there  was  no 
alternative:  we  also  were  threatened 
wtth  .starvation,  and  the  sacrifice  had  to 
be  made.  The  die  was  cast,  the  horses 
were  slaughtered,  and  some  of  the  men 
drank  their  warm  blo^od  in  order  to  re- 
lieve their  consuming  thirst.  As  the 
meat  of  these  horses  was  being  prepared 
for  transportation,  some  of  the  men  went 
down  the  canyon  in  search  of  water, 
which  was  found  in  a  basin  two  miles 
below.  The  quantity  was  small,  about 
two  barrels,  and  I  made  two  trips  with 
as  many  Spanish  gourds  as  I  could  carry 
when  filled.  In  those  days  the  Sjiani.sh 
gourd  was  used  instead  of  the  canteen. 
Here  a  division  was  made  of  the  $1,400 
we  had  ca[)turpd,  my  portion  amount- 
ing to  $7.00. 

From  this  point  of  dosolation  we  n-- 
sumed  ^our  march,  each  man  carrying  a 
supply  of  raw  horse  meat.  Ours  was  a 
dry  camp  that  night  and  we  traveled  all 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  A  MIER  PRISONER 


n€xt  day  without,  water.  In  the  after- 
noon of  that  day  Captain  Cameron  diT- 
<'<iod  that  those  having  sufficient  strength 
romaining  should  scour  the  country  to 
iho  right  and  left  of  our  eoiirse  and 
•  arch  for  water,  while  he,  with  those 
s(i  nearly  exhausted,  would  move  for- 
ward to  a  designated  mountaim  peak  in 
the  distance,  where  we  would  all  rendez- 
vous. I  went  with  the  squad  that  turned 
to  the  right  and  after  a  fruitless  search 
we  ascended  the  mountain  and  waited 
until  all  the  men  came  up.  From  this 
point  we  saw  in  our  front  a  broad  valley 
Avith  a  lofty  range  of  mountains  beyoind, 
and  in  this  valley  there  was  a  small 
round  mountain,  which  Captain  Cameron 
pointed  out  and  said  we  would  leave 
that  elevation  on  our  left. 

Water!  water!  AVas  the  cry  of  the  fam- 
islting  men.  and  some,  through  sheer  ex- 
haustion, had  thrown  away  their  guns 
and  blankets.  We  descended  the  moun- 
tain, I  among  the  foremost,  and  when  I 
)<ached  the  valley  my  thirst  was  so  in- 
t(  rise  that  I  struck  out  alone  in  search  of 
^\ater,  and  finding  none,  went  fco  the  top 
of  the  little  round  mountain,  where  I  had 
ati  excellent  view  of  the  surrounding 
country,  but  discovered  no  indications  of 
^^ater  anywhere.  It  was  a  vast  picture 
of  aridity  and  desolation.  Bordering  on 
il'spair.  I  threw  my  blanket  over  a  bush 
to  shelter  me  from  the  scorching  rays  of 
tile  sun  and  lay  down  in  the  shade  thus 
afforded  to  await  the  coming  of  Cameron. 
1ti  a  short  time  Jack  Johnson,  and  Gibson 
fame  up.  The  evening  was  far  advanced 
and  as  C'ameron  failed  to  appear,  we  con- 
cluded that  he  had  changed  his  course 
and  gonic  in  the  direction  of  a  mountain 
]>ass  that  we  could  see  northeast  of  us. 

A  little  to  the  left  of  that  gap  or  pass 
we  could  see  two  very  high  peaks  with  a 
low  elevation  between  them,  and  realiz- 
ing the  probability  that  this  pass  or  gap 
would  be  guarded,  we  decided  that  we 
M-onld  avoid  the  pass  and  attempt  to 
cross  over  the  low  swell  between  the 
two  peaks.  Acting  upon  this  decision 
Ave  three  set  out  and  traveled  the  remain- 
der of  the  day  and  might,  our  famished 
condition  rendering  our  progress  slow 
and  extremely  painful.  A  heavy  fog 
prevailed  next  morning,  somewhat  to 
our  relief,  and  as  we  entered  a  small 
valley  we  suddenly  came  upon  four  of 
our  comrades,  Ackermani,  Arthur,  Cash 
t^nd  Jipj  Neely.     Our  little     squad  now 


numbered  seven  and  we  pushed  on  in  the 
direction  of  the  peaks  until  noon,  when 
we  halted,  and  while  trying  to  press  a 
little  moisture  from  the  piths  of  a 
species  of  dagger  tree  Gibson  wandered 
away  and  was  lost — delirious  of  thirst 
and  hardship. 

We  six  finally  reached  the  base  of  the 
mountain  and  during  the  night  made  the 
ascent,  reaching  the  summit  an  hour  or 
two  before  daylight.  Here  we  lay  dovm 
and  slept,  and  during  my  sleep  I  had 
one  of  those  peculiar  dreams  experienced, 
it  is  said  only  by  those  on  the  verge  of 
dissolution  from  thirst  and  starvation. 
I  was  being  welcomed  at  home,  and 
was  at  a  great  feast  prepared  by  gener- 
ous relatives  and  frieinds.  Long  tables 
laden  with  viands,  rich,  rare  and  bounte- 
ous, were  before  me,  and  I  was  urged 
to  eat.  I  craved  water,  only  water,  and 
when  this  was  forthcoming  I  emptied 
each  jar  as  it  was  brought  to  me  and 
called  for  more.  Each  draught  seemed 
to  inflame  my  thirst,  and  yet  on  one  of 
the  vast  company  seemed  astonished  at 
the  amount  of  water  T  drank.  My 
thirst   was  unquenchable. 

From  this  tantalizing  creature  of  a 
distempered  brain  I  awoke  at  daylight. 
We  dragged  our  emaciated  bodies  down 
the  mountain  side  and  as  we  reached  the 
plain  we  glanced  up  to  the  right  and  our 
eager  eyes  caught  the  silver  sheen  of  a 
waterfall.  Glorious  vision!  We  hasten- 
ed around  the  point  of  the  mountain 
and  came  to  a  beautiful  stream  of  clear, 
cold  water.  We  had  bee*n  four  days 
Avithout  this  life-preserving  element,  and 
here  we  rested  during  the  remainder  of 
the  day,  drinking  and  bathing  and 
feasting  on  the  now  partially  spoiled 
horse  meat  that  yet  remained.  Banc, 

Leaving  this  stream  we  proceeded  on 
our  eastward  course,  and  after  traveling 
quite  a  distance  we  discovered  a  man 
on  foot  pursuing  a  road  that  led  north- 
ward, and  on  taking  our  bearings  we 
found  that  we  were;  near  the  entrance  to 
a  pass  through  which  the  road  led  and 
fearing  to  go  through  this  pass  during 
the  daytime,  we  went  into  concealment 
and  lay  by  until  nightfall,  after  which 
we  entered  the  pass,  where  we  found 
water,  and  while  replenishing  our  water 
gourds  a  horseman  passed  near  us,  going 
northward.  As  soon  as  he  passed  out 
of  hearing  we  followed,  and  after  pro- 
ceeding about  a  mile  we  emerged  from 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  A  MIER  PRISONER 


the  pass  and  entered  a  valley.  Jim 
Neely  had  remained  a  short  distance  be- 
hind as  a  sort  of  rear  guard,  and  when 
we  had  gone  some  distance  in  the  valley 
he  came  up  and  said  some  one  was  dog- 
ging our  steps.  On  this  notice  we  moved 
olT  about  forty  yards  from  the  road  and 
waited  developments.  The  moon  was 
shining,  and  presently  a  footman  came 
along.  When  opposite  where  we  lay 
he  halted,  and  after  a  moment  as  if 
li.stening,  he  called  out  in  a  low  tone  of 
voice:  "Boys,  where  are  you?"  The 
stranger  proved  to  be  Major  Oldham, 
and  I  never  saw  a  man  so  overjoyed  to 
get  back  into  good,  but  very  forlorn, 
company.  The  Major  reported  as  fol- 
lows: "I  remained  with  Capt.  Cameron 
two  days  after  you  left  him  and  from 
the  time  of  your  departure  the  men 
maddened  with  thirst,  began  to  wander 
off,  singly  and  in  groups,  searching  for 
water.  No  persuasioni,  no  advice  or 
counsel  could  deter  them;  they  were 
crazed  with  burning,  consuming  thirst, 
the  Mexicans  picking  them  up  here  and 
there.  Captain  Pearson,  with  elevem 
men.  myself  included,  became  separated 
from  the  others  and  while  searching  for 
water.  I  and  Thompson  being  consider- 
ably in  the  rear,  a  squad  of  cavalry  sur- 
rounded Pearson,  capturing  him  and 
the  men  with  him.  The  Mexicans  failed 
to  see  us,  and  hence  our  narrow  escape. 
When  this  cavalcade  had  gone  I  and 
Thompson  proceeded  in  quest  of  water, 
and  when  we  came  to  a  pass  in  the 
mountains  Ave  discovered  a  Mexican 
camp.  By  this  time  Thompson  was  wild 
and  said  there  was  water  in  that  camp 
and  he  was  going  to  get  it.  I  tried  to 
dissuade  him,  but  to  no  effect.  He  was 
determined  and,  giving  me  his  gun  and 
ammunition,  we  shook  hands  and  he  was 
off.  This  occurred  during  the  night, 
and  to  avoid  discovery,  when  daylight 
came  T  concealed  myself  in  a  deep  gulley 
and  remained  there  all  day,  my  position 
being  in  full  view  of  the  Mexican  camp. 
About  sundown  a  large  body  of  Mexican 
cavalry  passed  near  me,  going  in  the 
direction  of  the  gap  in  tlie  mountain 
where  they  went  into  camp.  This  oc- 
cupancy of  the  gap  forced  me  to  climb 
llip  mountain  in  order  to  evade  the 
enemy  tlius  placed  on  guard,  and  when 
I  had  accomplished  this  toilsome  feat 
T  descended  into  the  gap,  where  I  found 
water    the    first    1    had    obtained    in    five 


days.  After  satisfjdng  to  some  extent 
my  thirst  I  filled  my  only  water  vessel, 
a  tin  cup.  and  resumed  my  journey 
northward  amd  continued  until  overcome 
with  exhaustion.  1  dropped  down  and 
slei)t  until  morning,  and  when  I  awoke 
a  bird  was  sitting  on  my  breast  almost 
splitting  his  little  throat  with  his  morn- 
ing song.  When  I  moved  he  flew  away, 
and  I  regarded  the  incident  as  being  a 
good  omen:  it  gave  me  new  courage  and 
I  resumed  my  travels  with  a  lighter 
heart  and  continued  until  I  overtook 
you  boys." 

With  the  arrival  of  Major  Oldham 
our  party  again  numbered  seven,  and 
pushing  ahead,  we  traveled  the  remain- 
der of  that  night  and  all  next  day  with- 
out water.  Late  in  the  evening  we  came 
to  an  arroyo  where  we  expected  to 
find  nu)rd  water,  but  not  a  drop 
was  to  be  found.  After  resting  awhile. 
Johnson  and  Cash  proposed  going  up  the 
arroyo  as  far  as  a  designated  point, 
where  they  Wiuld  remain  in  waiting 
for  us  while  we  explored  certain  gulches 
that  led  off  in  the  direction  indicated. 
They  firmly  believed  that  water  could  be 
found  somewhere  in  that  vicinity.  Later, 
when  w.e  reached  the  point  designated, 
a  small  elevation,  these  two  men  were 
Aowhere  to  be  seen,  and  made  no 
response  to  our  repeated  calls.  With 
heavy  hearts  we  went  forward.  I  loved 
Cash,  and  it  grieved  me  to  lose  him  in 
that  impossible  wilderness,  and  my 
grief  was  greatly  intensified  long  after- 
ward when  I  learned  that  he  was 
among  those  recaptured  who  drew  the 
black  bean  at  Salado  and  was  cruelly 
murdered 

Our  little  squad  of  wanderers  was 
now  reduced  to  five  and  that  night,  .still 
being  without  water,  we  lay  down  and 
slept  until  morning,  when,  upon  rising, 
we  discovered  that  we  were  at  the  head 
of  two  "draws"  or  valleys.  Mr.  Acker- 
man  said  he  would  follow  down  the  one 
on  right  while  we  moved  down  along 
that  on  the  left,  and  that  we  would 
meet  at  the  confluence  of  the  two. 
which  did  not  seem  very  far  distant. 
We  never  saw  Mr.  Ackerman  again. 
On  reaching  the  confluence  of  the  two 
valleys,  Ave  Avaited  and  called  repeatedly, 
but  receiving  no  ansAver  and  giving  him 
up  for  lost,  we  continued  our  course, 
our  number  noAv  being  reduced  to  four, 
and  after  having  traA'cled  several  hours 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  A  MTER  PRISONER 


\v(<  came  to  a  dry  arroyo,  where  we 
t'liiiid  cattle  tracks,  which  gave  us  the 
Mssnrance  that  water  was  near  at  hand, 
I'Dllowin*^  the  cattle  sign  up  the  arroyo 
n(>  had  not  gone  far  when  Major  Oldham 
;  11(1  Mr.  Arthur  yielded  to  exhaustion. 
K  ving  them  with  the  promise  that  if 
wv  found  water  we  wiuld  return  to  their 
succor,  I .  and  Neely  pushed  forward 
hut  we  had  not  proeeeded  very  far  Avhen 
T  also  had  to  fall  by  the  wayside.  Neely 
li't't  me  to  continue  the  search,  and  in 
about  half  an  hour  I  heard  his  signal 
announcing  the  discovery  of  water.  lie 
hurried  back  with  the  good  tidings,  and 
irlated  having  seen  an  old  bull  at  the 
watering  place,  which  he  said  I  must 
kill,  as  we  needed  beef.  While  Neely 
went  to  the  relief  of  Major  Oldham  and 
.\rthur  I  managed  to  reach  the  water 
hole,  which  I  found  contained  very  little 
water.  However,  with  my  hands  I 
>-i'raped  out  a  basin  in  the  yielding  mud 
and  clay  and  soon  had  a  bountiful  sup- 
I>ly.  Meanwhile  my  three  comrades 
iiad  come  up,  and  after  a  short  rest 
X<^ely  borrowed  the  Major's  gun  and  we 
^>  t  out  to  kill  the  old  bull,  which  we 
succeeded  in  doing  after  having  fired 
lliree  shots  and  engaging  in  almost  a 
Iiand  to  hand  fight,  before  bringing  him 
down.  In'  the  entire  party,  there  was 
only  one  knife,  an  old  worn  out  pocket 
knife,  and  with  this  makeshift  we  found 
it  a  laborious  task  removing  sufficient 
liide  to  enable  us  to  carve  out  a  few 
ilinnks  of  meat 

We  rcmiained  there  two  days  and 
nights,  resting,  recuperating,  drying 
meat,  feasting  on  tough  roasts  and  re- 
jiairing  our  footwear  with  bull  hide. 
•Major  Oldham  mended  his  gun  stock 
which  Jim  Neely  had  broken  over  the 
head  of  the  old  bull. 

We  left  this  cam])  greatly  refreshed 
late  one  evening  and  during  the  night 
Xcely  and  Arthur  becanife  s(e})arated 
Tiom  us.  Discovering  their  absence  we 
.iscended  a  high  I'idge  nearby  and  called, 
^linuted.  fired  our  gun  and  waited,  but 
tlity  did  not  answer,  and  we  two.  Major 
<  Udham  and  I,  were  forced  to  proceed 
without  them,  and  pledging  ourselves 
to  stay  together,  even  to  the  end,  we 
Sit  forth,  persuaded  that  those  brave 
men  who  had  separated  from  us  did  so 
through  choice,  preferring  to  take 
cliances  alone  rather  than  risk  them- 
selves in   the   company  with  others,,   and 


on  the  principle  that  one  man  can  pass 
unobserved  through  a  country  easier 
than  a  party  of  men. 

That  night  we  rested  in  a  stony  valley 
that  trended  northward,  and  this  wc 
followed  through  the  day,  passing  large 
forests  of  pine  and  oak.  Late  in  the 
evening  we  came  to  the  head  of  this 
valley  and  next  morning  we  reached  the 
toj)  of  a  mountain,  from  which  we  saw 
iu  the  distance  cattle  grazing  in  a  valley 
that  lay  in  front.  We  descended  into 
this  valley  and,  after  a  toilsome  day's 
travel;  went  into  camp,  as  usual,  vrith- 
out  water.  During  the  night  a  'possum 
visited  us,  was  captured,  and,  after  go- 
ing a  short  distance  next  .morning,  ,we 
found  water,  roasted  our  'possum,  made 
a  cup  of  horsemint  tea,  and  feasted: 
our  supply  of  bull  beef  having  been  ex- 
hausted. That  evening  we  reached  a 
stream  and  along  toward  sundown  we 
saAv  cattle  coming  to  water.  Here  was 
a  chance  for  more  beef,  and  taking  my 
stand  near  a  deep  cut  or  trail  in  the 
bank,  I  waited  until  a  nice,  fat  two-year- 
old  heifer  came  along  and  shot  her. 
We  biult  a  fire  and  began  barbecuing 
the  meat,  -which  we  found  far  more  pala- 
table than  our  late     ration  of  bull  beef. 

Here  let  me  say,  that  from  this  time 
until  we  reached  San  Antoino,  my  nar- 
rative cannot  recollect  dates  and  details 
of  each  day's  travel.  We  had  lost  all 
record   of  time. 

Loading  ourselves  with  a  good  supply 
of  nice  beef,  we  broke  camp  and  travel- 
ed three  days  in  a  northeast  course, 
without  water.  At  last  we  came  to  a 
dry  an-oyo  and,  following  it  some  dis- 
tance down  stream,  we  came  to  high 
bluflf  beneath  which  was  a  depressi(ui. 
With  my  hands  1  scraped  out  a  small 
])it  in  this  depression  and  soon  had  a 
supply  of  water.  After  satisfyiug  our 
thirst,  we  noticed  a  number  of  bees 
swarming  around  the  water  and  I  soon 
obtained  a  "boe  course"  following  which 
about  200  yards  below.  I  disooverc'd  a 
bee  cave  in  the  wall  of  the  arroyo,  about 
eight  feet  from  the  base.  With  Major 
Oldham's  bayonet  we  scooped  out  all 
the  honey  our  tin  cups  would  hold  an<l 
went  into  camp.  Either  from  eating 
too  much  honey  or  from  the  effects  of 
the  bee  sting.s,  the  Major  came  near 
dying  that  night,  but  by  morning  reliel" 
came  and  he  was  able  to  stir  around. 
Removing  ^is   goatskin  leggings,  he  tied 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  A  MIER  PRISONER 


the  lower  ends,  revisited  the  bee  cave 
and  filled  thom  with  honny  for  future 
use. 

Late  in  the  after  noon,  next  day  after 
leaving  our  bee  camp,  we  came  into  a 
road,  and  a  few  minutes  later  we  were 
overtak-en  by  a  young  Mexican  on  horse- 
back. In  response  to  our  inquiries  he 
said  he  lived  on  the  road  about  a  league 
distant.  He  seemed  quite  obliging, 
gave  us  some  loaf  tobacco  and  a  cake  of 
bread,  and  refused  the  offer  of  pay,  say- 
ing that  all  our  wants  would  be  supplied 
and  kind  hos]>itality  accorded  us  on 
reaching  his  home.  His  seeming  gener- 
osity so  far  wrought  upon  the  major 
that,  over  my  protest,  he  allowed  him  to 
carry  his  gun,  the  Major  hardly  able  to 
walk  because  of  physical  exhaution;  the 
riddance  of  the  burdensome  gun  was  a 
great  relief.  Darkness  overtaking  us,  T 
told  the  major  he  must  recover  his  gun, 
that  that  Mexican,  like  all  others  of  h-is 
class,  was  a  rascal.  The  major  yielded, 
and  when  he  asked  for  his  "shootin' 
iron"  the  Mexican  put  spurs  to  his  horse, 
and  that  was  the  last  of  the  major's  old 
musket.  A  few  minutes  later  we  heard 
the  barking  of  dogs  and  from  this  we 
inferred  that  the  Mexican  had  reache-d 
home.  The  night  was  intensely  dark, 
with  a  misting  rain,  and  we  could  scarce- 
ly follow  the  road,  but  moved  forward 
until  we  found  ourselves  in  what  seemed 
to  be  a  village,  or  a  large  ranch,  judging 
from  the  number  of  lights  that  issued 
from  a  number  of  doors  and  windows. 
To  avoid  discovery,  we  turned  off  to  the 
left  and  entered  an  irrigated  field  where, 
for  some  time  we  floundered  around  in 
mud,  slime,  and  ditches,  until  we 
came  at  a  late  hour  to  a  rippling  stream 
about  fiorty  yards  wide  and  rather  deep. 
"We  forded  this  river  with  great  diffi- 
culty, as  the  water  was  over  waist  deep 
and  very  swift.  Being  much  taller  in 
stature,  I  had  to  carry  our  scant  baggage 
over  and  then  return  and  assist  the 
major.  We  next  found  ourselves  in  a 
dense  swanp,  and,  finding  a  place  com- 
])aratively  dry,  we  halted  and  slept  un- 
til morning.  Rising  early  we  proceeded 
on  our  way,  and  that  evening  we  found 
our.selves  in  a  sheep  range  and  coming 
up  with  a  herder,  we  took  charge  of  him 
and  tried  to  purchase  a  sheep,  which  he 
positively  refused  to  sell,  saying  they 
were  not  his  property  and  that  he  had 
no  authority  to     dispose     of  evefl     one 


sheep.  We  gave  him  to  understand  that 
we  M'ere  hungry  and  were  going  to  have 
a  mutton,  and  with  certain  very  effective 
powers  of  persuasion  we  induced  him 
to  catch  the  fattest  finest  sheep  in  the 
flock,  one  of  our  own  selection.  For 
his  trouble  we  gave  him  the  head  and 
hide,  paying  him  a  dollar  for  the  sheep. 
I  also  gave  him  25  cents  for  an  old  sway- 
back  butcher  knife,  which  I  lost  a  few 
days  later.  We  asked  this  honest 
simpleton  many  questions  which,  I 
believe,  he  answered  correctly  in  so  far 
as  his  very  limited  knowlege  extended. 
We  told  him  we  were  on  our  way  to 
Kendalia,  but  when  beyond  his  sight 
we  changed  our  course,  went  into  camp 
on  a  river  and  barbecued     our     mutton. 

From  this  place  we  traveled  two  days 
and  nights  Avithout  water,  and  on  the 
second  day  while  resting,'  prone  upon  the 
ground,  we  heard  a  low,  sullen  roar, 
the  source  of  which  we  decided  was  a 
little  to  the  right  of  our  course.  We  also 
decided  that  it  was  the  sound  of  a 
waterfall,  which  it  proved  to  be.  Pushing 
on  down  the  mountain  through  the  dark- 
ness, we  reached  the  falls  of  a  beautiful 
river,  where  we  camped,  made  a  cup  of 
mint  tea  and  devoured  the  last  of  our 
mutton  supply. 

Continuing  up  the  river  valley  the 
next  day,  late  in  the  afternoon  we  found 
ourselves  in  another  sheep  range,  and 
while  seeking  the  shepherd  we  came  up- 
on his  shanty  and  flock  pens.  We  enter- 
ed this  jacal,  or  shanty,  took  possession 
and  made  ourselves  quite  at  home. 
Looking  around  we  found  a  mug  of  goat's 
milk  and  a  small  supply  of  tortillas, 
which  we  promptly  transferred  to  the 
department  of  the  interior.  We  also 
found  about  three  quarts  of  shelled 
corn  and  a  small  amount  of  mutton  suet 
which  found  lodgement  in  our  wallets. 
This  was  all  in  the  way  of  provisions, 
we  could  find;  among  other  things,  in 
the  herdsman's  wardrobe  I  found  a  pair 
of  tanned  goat  skin  pants,  all  complete 
save  the  waistband.  Of  my  old  pants 
all  that  remained  was  the  waist  band. 
These  new  pants  fitted  me  to  a  fraction, 
and,  splicing  them  on  my  old  waistband. 
I  went  forth  as  proud  as  any  boy  with 
his  first  pair  of  breeches.  A  bunch  of 
kids  were  playing  about  the  pens  and 
Ave  tried  to  secure  one  of  these,  but  fail- 
ed on  account  of  our  extreme  weakness 
from   hunger     and     hardships.     Leaving 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  A  MIER  PRISONER 


this  ranch  and  going  some  distance,  we 
found  a  secluded  place  where  we  lighted 
a  fire,  parched  a  supply  of  corn  in  the 
embers,  and  that,  with  the  mutton  suet, 
formed  the  menu  for  our  supper,  which 
wp  greatly  enjoyed. 

Before  us  was  a  river,  and  to  get 
across  this  deep  stream  was  our  next 
task.  We  soon  came  to  a  point  where 
there  was  an  island,  where  we  found  a 
fallen  tree  across  the  other  channel, 
which  was  quite  deep,  smd  on  this  foot- 
log  we  passed  safely  to  the  opposite 
shore  and  without  water  we  traveled  the 
two  days  following,  and  on  the  tliird 
day  a  furious  norther  blew  up.  and  owing 
to  the  intense  cold  we  were  forced  to 
lay  by  a  day  and  night,  following  there 
came  a  heavy  frost,  and  after  this  had 
cleared  away  we  set  forward  and,  late 
that  evening  I  became  deathly  sick. 
Major  Oldham  made  a  fire  and  did  all  he 
could  for  my  relief,  but  I  steadily  grew 
worse,  and  believeing  that  my  hour  had 
come,  I  begged  him  to  leave  me  and  try 
to  make  his  way  through,  that  we  were 
starving,  and  it  v/ould  be  folly  for  him 
to  waste  time  in  a  hopeless  case.  He  re- 
minded me  of  our  pledge  to  stand  by  each 
other  through  all  danger,  and  that  he 
would  not  violate  that  obligation.  Dur- 
ing the  day  following  the  Major's  at- 
tack of  illness  at  the  bee  cave  camp,  he 
came  upon  an  herb  which  was  in  great 
repute  among  the  housewives  in  Texas 
as  being  a  sovereign  remedy  for  a  great 
variety  of  ills.  This  herb,  he  said  was 
balmona,  and  he  pulled  up  a  handful 
and  stowed  it  away  in  his  wallet  for  use 
in  case  of  an  emergency.  When  he 
found  that  my  case  was  really  serious 
he  thought  of  his  herb  and  brewed  a  cup 
of  the  most  villainous  compound  I  ever 
tasted.  In  a  short  time  it  took  effect,  and 
the  effect  was  nearly  as  fierce  as  the 
disease,  but  it  brought  me  around,  and 
by  morning  I  was  able  to  move  about. 
In  the  afternoon  I  was  able  to  travel  at 
a  slow  gait  and  an  reaching  an  elevation 
we  could  see  ahead  of  us  a  long  belt  of 
limber,  and  when  within  about  a  mile 
(it  this  timber,  we  discovered  a  couple  of 
(leer,  and  taking  my  gun,  Oldham  man- 
aged by  stealth  to  kill  one  of  these, 
which  we  carried  to  the  timber  which  as 
we  surmised,  was  on  the  bank  of  a  large 
hold  river.  It  being  near  night  we 
went  into  camp,  and  while  I  went  to  the 
river  to  get  water  the  Major  roauted  the 


deer's  liver  and  some  venison.  We  had 
no  salt,  but  the  viands  were  savory  and 
greatly  relished.  Going  down  to  the 
river  bank  next  morning,  we  decided 
that  we  had  reached  the  Rio  Grande  and 
joy  filled  lOur  souls  as  we  gazed  upon  the 
opposite  shore  and  said  to  each  other, 
"That  is  grand  old  Texas!"  We 
traveled  down  the  river  two  days  seek- 
ing means  of  crossing,  and  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  third  day  we  came  to  an  old 
stock  pen  built  of  poles.  We  were 
elated  over  the  find  and  proeeeded  to 
make  a  raft.  When  it  was  completed, 
Major  Oldham  mounted  the  front  end 
of  our  raft,  while  I  tQok  station  aft,  and 
with  poles  we  launched  forth  on  our 
voyage  and  landed  safely  in  Texas. 
Removing  our  slim  cargo  we  set  the  raft 
adrift  and  continued  our  course,  down 
the  valley,  and  on  the  second  day  we 
discovered  signs  which  convinced  us 
that  we  were  approaching  a  settlement. 
We  bore  to  the  left,  being  satisfied  that 
we  were  near  Laredo,  and  it  was  our 
plan  to  lave  the  town  to  the  right  and, 
if  possible,  to  get  into  the  San  Antonio 
road.  It  was  now  night,  and  there  be- 
ing so  many  roads  we  became  confused, 
and  crossed  the  one  we  were  seeking 
without  being  aware  that  it  was  the  San 
Antonio  route,  so  we  dceided,  to  halt. 
Next  morning  we  heard  a  church  bell, 
which  seemed  close  by,  and  found  our- 
selves near  the  river  below  town.  Tak- 
ing our  bearings,  we  set  out,  and  soon 
came  to  a  road  that  seemed  to  lead  in 
the  right  direction,  and  while  deliberat- 
ing on  the  advisability  of  following  this 
road,  a  Mexican  rode  up  within  forty 
yards  of  us,  halted,  and  while  eyeing  us, 
I  called  out,  "Buenas  dias,  amigo!" 
whereupon  he  wheeled  his  horse  and  fled 
with  all  speed  back  the  way  he  came, 
toward  town.  Just  then  we  concluded 
that  we  could  get  along  without  a  road, 
and  turning  eastward,  we  proceeded 
a  dense  chaparral,  satisfied  that 
the  pelado  who  had  discovered  us  would 
soon  have  a  gang  of  his  companeros  at 
our  heels.  After  going  about  ten  miles 
we  came  to  a  creek  which  we  recognized 
as  one  we  had  crossed  during  our  march 
to  Laredo,  and  nightfall  being  at  hand, 
we  went  into  camp.  The  next  morning, 
after  proceeding  about  two  hundred 
yards,  we  came  to  the  San  Antonio  road. 
Before  entering  this  road  we  peered 
cautiously  up  and  down  the  road  to  see 


t\i.>i.  «'„* 


